Duke of Pride (Prestige Class)
Duke of Meziraan While the majority of Meziraan's supplicants serve out of fear of punishment, or out of madness, there exist those cruel souls who revel in their work. Dukes of Pride are agents so dedicated to the cause of spreading terror and subjugation that the Master of Fear himself infuses them with his power. Dukes of Pride are tyrants, both on the battlefield and off, imposing their will onto any creature they can, using a host of dark powers to do so. Dukes of Pride love to surround themselves with servants and slaves. Rarely to they recognize an ally as an equal. *'Role: '''Dukes of Pride are imposing figures on the battlefield, dominating their opponents through physical and mental control. Their Mouth of Fear provides a powerful, constant source of debuffs. *'Alignment: A Duke of Pride's alignment can not stray from Meziraan's. *Hit Dice: d8 Requirements To become a Duke of Pride, a character must fulfill the following criteria. *'''Aligment: Lawful Evil *'Base Attack Bonus:' +5 *'Feats: 'Fiendish Disciple (Meziraan), Weapon Focus (Whip), Whip Mastery *Skills': '''Intimidate 5 ranks *'Spellcasting: Able to cast Command as a spell-like ability. Class Skills The Duke of Pride's class skills are Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility), Perception (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis). *'Skill Points per Level: '''2 + Int modifier. Class Features The following are class features of the Duke of Meziraan prestige class. *'Weapon and Armor Proficiency: 'Dukes of Pride gain proficiency with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor and shields. When one becomes a Duke of Pride, they undergo a disfiguring transformation. Somewhere on their upper body, usually on the chest or a shoulder, a patch of their skin grows rough, spiky, and dark. In the center of this patch, a hideous, sharp-toothed mouth opens. The mouth constantly gibbers and laughs to itself. The Duke can will it to be silent as a free action, however prolonged periods of such silence may displease Meziraan. The Mouth of Fear is not a seperate creature from the Duke of Pride, but gets its own action during Duke's turn, which it can only use to activate one of its abilities. The DC of any of the mouth's abilities is 10 + the Duke's class level + the Duke's charisma modifier, and it uses the Duke of Pride's class level as its caster level. All of the mouth's abilities rely on verbal components, and are thus gagged by a Silence spell or similar effect. If the Mouth of Fear does not activate any of its other abilities, it spends its action gibbering and laughing to itself. Enemies within 30 ft. of the Duke who can hear the mouth make a Will save or become shaken for 1 round. At 2nd level, the Mouth of Fear can utter a single, domineering command towards one creature. This ability functions as the Command spell, except the mouth need not speak a language the subject understands. The mouth can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + the Duke of Pride's charisma modifier. This ability replaces the Duke of Pride's Command spell-like ability. A Duke of Meziraan gains the following bonus feats at the following levels: Improved Whip Mastery at 2nd level, and Greater Whip Mastery at 5th level. In addition, the Duke of Meziraan's class levels stack with any fighter levels they may possess for the purposes of qualifying for feats such as Weapon Specialization, but only when taken for whips. At 3rd level, the Mouth of Fear can use tis action to give a bloodcurdling shriek. Enemies within 30 ft. of the mouth who can hear it become frightened for 1 round per caster level if they fail their Will save. If they succeed, they are instead shaken for 1 round. The mouth can use this ability once per day, and gains an additional use per day for every 3 levels above 3rd. ('2/day at 6th, 3/day at 9th). At 4th level, the Mouth of Fear can use its action to begin cackling. This cackling lasts until the Duke of Pride's next turn, and makes concentrating difficult for those who hear it. This ability functions as the Distracting Cacaphony spell, except it affects enemies within 30 ft. of the mouth who can hear it. The mouth can cackle this way for a number of rounds per day equal to 3 + the Duke's Charisma modifier. These rounds need not be consecutive. At 5th level, when you successfully grapple a creature using your whip with the Greater Whip Mastery feat, that creature receives a -2 penalty to all Will saves. This penalty lasts as long as you maintain the grapple, and increases to -4 at level 8. At 7th level, the Mouth of Fear can use its action to loose a sinister laugh that attacks the very sanity of those who hear it. Enemies within 30 ft. of the mouth who can hear it and fail their Will save become confused for a number of rounds equal to the Duke of Pride's class level. The mouth can use this ability once per day at 7th level, and twice per day at 10th level. At 9th level, the Mouth of Fear can use its action to let out a scream empowered with draining energies. Enemies within 30 ft. of the mouth who can hear it gain 1d3 temporary negative levels if they fail their Will save. The mouth can use this ability once per day. At 10th level, the Duke becomes a physical embodiment of pride. They gain the fiendish subtype, DR 10/good, and a +2 increase to Charisma. In addition, fear effects the Duke and their Mouth of Fear create can affect any non-deity creature. Even those who are normally immune to fear or mind-affecting effects. Category:Prestige Classes